Hello. Would be interesting to know which has provided better ROI. What is the return of energy to installation cost ratio for both the solar panels and the turbine?

There are so many variables involved, someone could make the numbers say whatever they want.

If I ignore variables for the solar array like peak/holiday/weekend rates, electrical rate increases, etc... I would wind up with a ~10 year ROI time. If I try to calculate all these variables, it is closer to 6-8 years ROI. As more time passes and I get more data, I will have a more accurate picture. You have to remember I haven't even had the system for a full year yet. I think 8 years is a good estimate though.

The wind turbine is a little more difficult because I've had it for less time and wind is harder to predict than sunlight. When I calculate the numbers I have, I get an ROI time between 3-100 years depending on which snapshot of data you use. If I were to make a lot of assumptions, I think a ~20 year ROI time is possible. If I installed a larger more powerful wind turbine & batteries (mine aren't installed yet) I think I could have reduced the ROI time, but for a residential neighborhood I think I have pushed the limits of sanity already.

I should note that these ROI times include owning the equipment outright at the end of the time period. While a wind turbine will likely be non-functioning and worthless in 20 years, a solar array will still have a high value in 8 years, likely meaning in the case of the solar array your ROI is actually getting a free solar array.

My conclusion is that while wind turbines are not ready for typical residential use yet, solar power is a no brainer for anyone living in a sunny climate who owns their home and plans to live there for a decade or more.

Hey Nasty, I just have a general solar question if you dont mind. My father has a 32 panel solar setup running his off the grid house. He has had nothing but problems with his 20 lead acid batteries and it costs almost double what that powerwall costs to replace them. Would you recommend one of these as a replacement for a traditional battery setup? If not, do you know of any other battery setup that will last longer than these crap batteries hes been stuck with?

Stop buying industrial miners, running them at home, and then complaining about the noise.

Hey Nasty, I just have a general solar question if you dont mind. My father has a 32 panel solar setup running his off the grid house. He has had nothing but problems with his 20 lead acid batteries and it costs almost double what that powerwall costs to replace them. Would you recommend one of these as a replacement for a traditional battery setup? If not, do you know of any other battery setup that will last longer than these crap batteries hes been stuck with?

As far as I am aware, the Tesla Powerwall is the best of the best. There are cheaper methods if you're a DIY'er that are probably a lot more fun and rewarding. Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bk50IuWXg-c

I spoke with a representative from Tesla today and was told that they have submitted a plan to the electric company to allow for "the removal of the roadblock" holding back all battery projects from moving forward. They plan to have final approval in 4-6 weeks and will update me at that time.

I spoke with a representative from Tesla today and was told that they have submitted a plan to the electric company to allow for "the removal of the roadblock" holding back all battery projects from moving forward. They plan to have final approval in 4-6 weeks and will update me at that time.

I don't know where you are located, but if you are in california and you are on NEM1 or NEM2 I would be very careful about installing your powerwall. The powerwall will change your "power plant" and will invalidate your NEM grandfather. This could result in significant costs when drawing power from the grid. If you are not in CA, and that is someplace in the thread I apologize. I am in CA, and have solar and I am on NEM2. My buddy recently installed a PW and it put him on NEM3 which carries a 7 cent cost per KW when drawing generated power out of the grid. I was shocked.

I spoke with a representative from Tesla today and was told that they have submitted a plan to the electric company to allow for "the removal of the roadblock" holding back all battery projects from moving forward. They plan to have final approval in 4-6 weeks and will update me at that time.

I don't know where you are located, but if you are in california and you are on NEM1 or NEM2 I would be very careful about installing your powerwall. The powerwall will change your "power plant" and will invalidate your NEM grandfather. This could result in significant costs when drawing power from the grid. If you are not in CA, and that is someplace in the thread I apologize. I am in CA, and have solar and I am on NEM2. My buddy recently installed a PW and it put him on NEM3 which carries a 7 cent cost per KW when drawing generated power out of the grid. I was shocked.

I don’t recall reading anything that said it were possible to invalidate my grandfathering. I’ll make sure to keep that in mind though. I’m in AZ. As you are well aware, nobody is more anal than California lawmakers, so hopefully AZ is a little more open to advancements.

Do you think it is possible to use the energy of water? How difficult would it be to build such station?

Possible, sure. I don't have access to any natural moving bodies of water or I would do it. The only thing I could realistically do is hook up a mini hydro electric generator to my main water line that would generate a small amount of electricity whenever my landscaping gets watered or I brush my teeth... I may do this as a gimmick after the Powerwall gets installed if it's simple enough. I expect it would only generate a few watts per day though.

I spoke with a representative from Tesla today and was told that they have submitted a plan to the electric company to allow for "the removal of the roadblock" holding back all battery projects from moving forward. They plan to have final approval in 4-6 weeks and will update me at that time.

I don't know where you are located, but if you are in california and you are on NEM1 or NEM2 I would be very careful about installing your powerwall. The powerwall will change your "power plant" and will invalidate your NEM grandfather. This could result in significant costs when drawing power from the grid. If you are not in CA, and that is someplace in the thread I apologize. I am in CA, and have solar and I am on NEM2. My buddy recently installed a PW and it put him on NEM3 which carries a 7 cent cost per KW when drawing generated power out of the grid. I was shocked.

I don’t recall reading anything that said it were possible to invalidate my grandfathering. I’ll make sure to keep that in mind though. I’m in AZ. As you are well aware, nobody is more anal than California lawmakers, so hopefully AZ is a little more open to advancements.

You may be safe in AZ. I don't know the laws there. As CA has moved through the different NEM rules with the PUC they have decided that if you make a material change to your approved plant that it will change the NEM to the newest and current NEM. Each time CA updates the NEM, they make it a little worse for those of us who own solar.

Great project, really interesting to track your progress and read about the technical aspects of larger scale solar operations.

I was wondering if you know anything about possibly repurposing solar heating panels to power a small miner or two? In the UK I believe we have restrictions on the storage of solar electricity, I think it has be converted 'live'.

Would solar heating panels generate enough to power a miner for a few hours a day?

Great project, really interesting to track your progress and read about the technical aspects of larger scale solar operations.

I was wondering if you know anything about possibly repurposing solar heating panels to power a small miner or two? In the UK I believe we have restrictions on the storage of solar electricity, I think it has be converted 'live'.

Would solar heating panels generate enough to power a miner for a few hours a day?

The solar heating panels I have for my pool are nothing more than black pvc pipes. I don’t see how they could be repurposed to create energy.

In the UK I believe we have restrictions on the storage of solar electricity, I think it has be converted 'live'.

There are no restrictions in the UK on storage of solar electricity. In fact, if you have solar panels you will get a payment for exporting the electricity to the grid even if you put it into your battery and use it to power your house. That's official.

I just finished the on site inspection with a representative from Tesla. Verified the installation locations for the equipment and answered some of my questions. I'm told it will likely be 2 months before all the inspections are completed and the unit gets switched on, but it should be installed and ready to go in one week!